IS conquers Palmyra; claims half of Syria

Damascus  

Islamic State group jihadists seized Syria's Palmyra yesterday, as UNESCO warned that the destruction of the ancient city would be "an enormous loss to humanity".

The capture of Palmyra, a 2,000-year-old metropolis, reportedly leaves more than half of Syria under IS control and comes days after the group also expanded its control in Iraq.

Palmyra "is the birthplace of human civilisation. It belongs to the whole of humanity and I think everyone today should be worried about what is happening," UNESCO chief Irina Bokova said yesterday.

IS fighters had spread out through Palmyra, including at the archaeological site in the city's southwest, said the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

Syrian state media said loyalist troops withdrew after "a large number of IS terrorists entered the city".

In an online statement, IS proclaimed its capture of the entire city, which is strategically located at the crossroads of key highways leading west to Damascus and Homs, and east to Iraq.

IS also seized Palmyra's prison, notorious for the killings of hundreds of regime prisoners in the 1980s and seen as a symbol of oppression during the reign of President Bashar al-Assad's late father Hafez al-Assad.

The jihadists, notorious for demolishing archaeological treasures since declaring a "caliphate" last year straddling Iraq and Syria, fought their way into Palmyra on foot after breaking through in the city's north.

- 'A loss for all humanity' -

Known in Syria as "the pearl of the desert", Palmyra is home to colonnaded alleys, elaborately decorated tombs, and ancient Greco-Roman ruins that attracted more than 150,000 tourists yearly.

IS sparked international outrage this year when it blew up the ancient Assyrian city of Nimrud and smashed artefacts in the museum of Mosul, both in Iraq.

Syria's antiquities director now fears a similar fate for Palmyra, urging the international community to act to prevent the smuggling and destruction of the city's priceless artefacts.

Mamoun Abdulkarim described the IS's capture of the archaeological site as "a loss for all of humanity, for world civilisation in the face of barbarism".

Analysts said the city also has strategic importance as the gateway to Homs and Damascus in the west, and to the Iraqi frontier in the east. 

"IS now dominates central Syria, a crossroads of primary importance," said Fabrice Balanche, a French expert on Syria.

"Taking Palmyra opens the way to Damascus and Homs. Eventually, this axis can be threatened," he said.

IS has recently threatened a number of regime strongholds, including Deir Ezzor city in the east and military airports in the north and south. 

"The capture of Palmyra leaves IS strongly placed to make more territorial gains from Assad, at a time when the government is heavily occupied in the north and south," said Matthew Henman, head of IHS Jane's Terrorism and Insurgency Centre. 

The jihadist victory also "reinforces IS's position as the single opposition group that controls the most territory in Syria," he said. 

- IS 'controls half of Syria' - 

By taking Palmyra, IS controls "more than 95,000 square kilometres (38,000 square miles) in Syria, which is 50 percent of the country's territory", the Observatory said.

The jihadist group dominates the provinces of Deir Ezzor and Raqa and has a strong presence in Hasakeh, Aleppo, Homs and Hama.

It has also seized most of Syria's oil and gas fields, using the income to fund the expansion of its self-styled "caliphate".

"IS controls large and contiguous territory with a lot of freedom of movement," said Charlie Winter, researcher on jihadism at the Quilliam Foundation.

But "even if it does control 50 percent of territory, it doesn't come near controlling 50 percent of the population", he told AFP.

Elsewhere in Syria on Thursday, at least 40 rebels from an Islamist coalition were killed in a regime barrel bomb attack on the northern city of Aleppo, the Observatory said.

Palmyra's takeover came days after IS seized the Iraqi city of Ramadi, their most significant victory since mid-2014 when they conquered swathes of land, sparking a US-led air campaign to support Baghdad.

A US State Department official said the loss of Ramadi would force Washington to take an "extremely hard look" at its strategy against IS.

The official said Washington would step up its aid to Iraq, including sending 1,000 anti-tank missile systems to help stop suicide car bombs and accelerating its training and equipping of tribal forces to fight IS.

On Thursday, Iraqi forces backed by powerful Shiite militias prepared to launch an offensive aimed at retaking Ramadi.